DALLAS – September 11, 2013 - An oncologist from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL and a researcher from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX are being honored as this year’s recipients of the prestigious Susan G. Komen® Brinker Awards for Scientific Distinction in Basic Science and Clinical Research, the highest awards of merit given by the world’s leading breast cancer organization.

This year’s awards will be presented to Edith A. Perez, M.D., Deputy Director at Large of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, and Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Systems Biology at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas.

Edith A. Perez, M.D. is receiving the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Clinical Research for her impactful contributions to the field of breast cancer treatment, which have helped to shape the standard of care for breast cancer patients globally. Dr. Perez has devoted her career to improving breast cancer patient care and expanding the understanding of breast cancer biology. She has led a wide range of translational clinical trials testing new therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer – trials that have had a lasting impact on women facing a breast cancer diagnosis.

Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D. is receiving the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Basic Science for his significant contributions to breast cancer research, which have been essential to advancing our understanding of the key processes that drive breast cancer’s initiation, progression and response to therapy. Dr. Mills has championed a cancer systems biology approach to understand the impact of genomic aberrations on complex signaling networks at the proteomic (protein) level, with the goal of individualizing cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Komen’s Chief Scientific Advisors Dr. Eric Winer and Dr. George Sledge said this year’s awardees have made important contributions to the treatment of breast cancer and our understanding of the disease.

"Dr. Perez has been a leader in breast cancer clinical research for well over a decade,” said Sledge. “She is a dedicated, insightful and tireless researcher. Her contributions have had a significant impact on the lives of many women living with breast cancer."

Winer commended Mills’ research efforts. "Dr. Mills is a giant in the field of breast cancer translational research,” Winer said. “His interests are broad and his research is both creative and prolific."

Komen has invested more than $790 million in breast cancer research since opening its doors in 1982, and is the largest non-profit funder of breast cancer research outside of the U.S. government, currently funding more than 500 research grants worldwide.

The Brinker Awards for Scientific Distinction were established in 1992 to recognize the efforts of pioneers in two critically important areas of the fight to end breast cancer: Clinical Research and Basic Science.

Perez and Mills will deliver keynote lectures Dec. 11 at the 36th annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, a major international gathering of breast cancer researchers, clinicians, and patient advocacy organizations from around the world being held Dec. 10-14 in San Antonio, Texas.